House Prices Drop

Average asking prices for Irish houses fell by 14.66% in the year to June 2009, according to new research issued today.

The pace of decline has moderated significantly in Q2 2009 however, according to the latest Property Barometer issued by Myhome.ie.

In Q2, average asking prices nationally fell by 1.48% compared to a reduction of 6.13% in Q1.

In Dublin asking prices fell by 2.33% during the second quarter compared to a reduction of 7.4% in Q1.

In the year to June, national asking prices fell by 14.66% from €395,597 to €337,603 and in Dublin the reduction was more marked with the average asking price falling from €498,194 to €409,448 or 17.8% over the same period.

Since the peak of the market, asking prices nationally have fallen by 18.5% and by 23.3% in Dublin.

In Cork city, the average asking price for a three-bedroom semi-detached home fell by 10.7%, 4% less than the national average and 7% less than in Dublin.

Two-bedroom apartments in Cork performed even better, falling by 5.7% in the year to June and by just 0.5% in Q2.

In Galway city, four-bedroom semi-detached homes saw a 12.76% decrease in asking prices in the year to June and a decline of just 0.75% during the second quarter this year.

In Limerick city, three-bedroom semi detached homes fell by 6.6% year to June, less than half the national average and by 0.9% in the second quarter this year.

Two-bedroom apartments in Limerick saw their asking prices fall by 8.7% in the year to June but this property type did experience a larger-than-average decrease during Q2 with asking prices reducing 3.62%.

Commenting on the results, independent economist Paul Murgatroyd said: "This latest edition of the Myhome.ie property barometer quantifies the weakness that the Irish residential market has seen over the last 12 months.

"The results are in line with the weakness the economy as a whole has displayed in that period, a period that will go down as one of the toughest in the State’s history.

"Unemployment has doubled over the period in question and consumer confidence has fallen to an all-time low, brought about by job losses, fears about future employment prospects, lower incomes and lower take-home pay as a result of two budgets during that period.

"That said, in recent weeks there have been some tentative signs that some indicators, such as consumer confidence, may be in the process of bottoming out, and if that proves correct it will be an important milestone in this current recessionary period."